States in the North files their compliance report on ‘cow vigilantism’

The supreme Court advised strongly against ‘cow vigilantism’ and advised that people who indulge in violence for the same must be brought to justice.

All states are under an obligation to compensate victims of cow vigilantism violence cases, the court said Pehlu Khan was lynched by alleged cow vigilantes in April this year, when he was transporting cattle with his sons from Nuh in Haryana to Jaipur in Rajasthan.

The Supreme Court had earlier this month asked states to take steps to curb cow vigilantism and submit a compliance report and today, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh filed their compliance reports.

In consequence, the apex court reminded all the remaining states to file the status report and fixed October 31 as the next date of hearing.

The Supreme Court had asked all states to take stern steps to stop violence in the name of cow protection by appointing a senior police officer as nodal officer in every district and by acting promptly to check cow vigilantes from behaving like they are “law unto themselves”.

“The senior police officer shall take prompt action and ensure (that) vigilante groups and such people are prosecuted with quite promptitude,” the court had said.

“The people should not take law into their hands and they should not behave as if they were law unto themselves. This must stop. Such acts are not permissible,” the court had added.